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Wilson set to undergo elbow surgery

Wilson set to undergo elbow surgery

10/1/12: C.J. Wilson strikes out seven over 6 1/3 solid innings against the Mariners to earn his 13th win

By Alden Gonzalez
/
MLB.com |

ANAHEIM -- Angels starter C.J. Wilson is set to undergo arthroscopic surgery to clean out his left elbow next Tuesday, general manager Jerry Dipoto said.

Barring an unforeseen setback, the procedure typically requires a four-to-six-week recovery process, easily allowing Wilson to be ready by the start of Spring Training -- and perhaps playing long-toss by mid-December, if he's so inclined.

After his last start of the regular season, on Oct. 1, Wilson revealed he had been pitching with bone spurs in his elbow throughout most of the second half and would soon undergo the routine procedure -- the same one he had with the Rangers in 2008.

"I tried to make a million adjustments to get around it, to the point where now I'm standing on the first-base side, trying to get an angle because I can't throw sinkers anymore because my arm doesn't work right," Wilson, who finished his first season with the Angels 13-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 34 starts, said then.

"It's one of those things where you push yourself through anything because your job is to go out there and pitch. The coaching staff and the training staff have been really great to help me to try to come up with adjustments and try to figure out if there's anything we can do. But bone's not muscle, so there's really one way to get it taken care of."

The 31-year-old left-hander went 9-5 with a 2.43 ERA in the first half, en route to making his second straight All-Star team. In the second half, though, he struggled with his command and finished 4-5 with a 5.54 ERA.

"By and large, it was the tale of two seasons for him," Dipoto said. "All-Star first half, where he probably couldn't be a whole lot better, and second half, it was a struggle for him. But I can't tell you what he felt like internally, how much this affected him. Those [offseason procedures] are not my decisions to make. He's in tune with his body, he knows how much pain he was feeling. All we're doing as an organization is doing the right thing for the player."